The Counting House – Oak Framed Extension

Oak framed extension transforms victorian property

Location:Dartmoor

Completed:2008

An oak framed extension transforms a Victorian place of historic interest

The key to adapting a historic building into a comfortable living space lies with sensitive design and the use of appropriate materials. A hand-crafted oak framed extension from Devon-based Carpenter Oak helped transform this Victorian counting house into a beautiful yet practical and efficient home.

Set on a renowned beauty spot on Dartmoor along the river Plym, for 100 years this building was home to the wage captain responsible for paying the men who came on foot from surrounding villages to work in the china clay pits.

Architect Mike Hope, from Totnes-based Roderick James Architects, and his wife Zoe wanted to retain as many of the original features as possible. After removing plasterboard and a layer of wonderful pencil-bead tongue and groove boarding from the walls – which were carefully restored and re-used – the original Baltic pine frame was revealed.

A timber framed extension made sense to both Mike and Zoe and to the planners; the extension was created using a new green oak frame resting on six foundation pads. This type of foundation was necessary due to the proximity of extensive root systems to the build site. In order to create a very light airy space, traditional oak diagonal braces have been replaced with stainless steel rod bracing panels.

Access to this site was tricky: with less than a three-metre wide approach the client wanted to minimise heavy traffic, so the Carpenter Oak team decided to hand roll all of the massive oak timbers in on a trolley.

The counting house has impressive eco-credentials, designed and installed by Sungift Solar of Exeter, with its own borehole, wood burning stoves, underfloor heating, solar panels and an air-source heat pump driven by electricity which produces 3kw of heat from an intake of 1kw.

The Counting House strikes the delicate balance of efficiency, beauty, and comfort for Mike and his family.

Featured in: Homebuilding & Renovation, September 2009

Retrofitted back boilers to existing Croft Clearburn wood burner and new installation in the hallway, as well as Uniq 5 wood burner & flue installation by Dean Forge, Newton Abbot